DIY: Thread Organizer Card

Yep. I haven’t posted for over a year. Never got around to posting about how Operation: Apartment worked out and now we’re probably going to change everything again. Never posted the finished versions of loads of projects, in fact never finished most of those projects.

What the heck happened?

Let’s just say that the transition from college student to full-on-adult is a lot harder then anyone ever gets around to telling you when you are young. I might make a post about that in the future if anyone wants to hear it, but who really cares about that shit.

Let’s talk money wasters.

As a crafter and artist one is constantly bombarded with gimmicky “useful” tools to save you time and effort, and usually also prevent your studio from becoming an episode of hoarders. Some of these things (for example quality needle threaders or a really good lap frame) are worth every penny, but the majority are just a waste of money and can be replicated with cheaper alternatives or DIY. I could do an entire series on stitching products I replicated at home rather than bought since I am always willing to waste two hours of my life making something instead of spending $5. I could buy a sandwich for that kind of cash, and momma likes her some sandwiches . . .

I digress. One big thing I think is a complete waste of your money are pre-made thread cards. If you’re working on a kit you were probably provided with one of these, but if you work from your own patterns like I do everyone wants to sell you organizers that are marked with codes that probably don’t match your pattern, can’t be marked multiple times, or are just nonsense expensive while requiring you to keep buying refill cards. The last type might work well if you like setting up tons of pre-threaded needles, but for me the cost is just not worth it.

What’s a girl to do? Well if you have card-stock, a laminator, and a hole punch you can make as many re-useable, markable thread cards as you want, with any number of holes to suit your project. Here’s what the finished product looks like:

The process is pretty self-explanatory – cut out a shape and size you like of card-stock, laminate it, then use a hole punch to make holes. Easy as pie. I then use permanent markers to write on it and use hand sanitizer and a tissue to wipe it off when I want to make a new one. The only downside is that over time wiping it clean will seep wetness into the card and discolor it, but you can easily make a new one.

Obviously not everyone has a laminator, but if you do a lot of custom stitching think of it like this – a basic laminator from Amazon plus 100 sheets of laminate cost about $35 total, and if you make 2 or 3 a page you can make over 200 cards for that money. Purchase these things once and not only will you probably won’t have to buy another project organizer for the rest of your life, but you also aren’t limited to one project at a time. Compare that to the organizers above and you can easily see the benefits.

If you don’t have a laminator you can also make one-time use cards the same way using a very thick card-stock or even cardboard. Most art-stores will have a wide variety of stock, so I would try there. It won’t last as long as the laminated card, but will still save you money over others.

That’s it for today – just a quick tip to save you money while still keeping your projects lovely and organized. Oh I do so love good organization.

This used to be the place where I would put all my social medias, but I quit that stuff for good. Nasty business for your health that. I’ll keep posting here when I do something of interest. Whatever – life’s too short to schedule everything. See you all soon and remember. . .